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Honestly, I'm sure he's right on some level...casual fans who only tune in for the blood and action will want insta-KO's every time. But the same goes for boxing, really. I enjoy a good boxing/kickboxing KO as much as an MMA one.
I think it has more to do with a) on a subconscious level, MMA represents more of a "real fight" to most people. Plenty of people who've witnessed or been in fights know that not everyone is a witch with their hands, but might be strong grapplers, as well as the fact that a lot of real life fights do go to the ground and are settled on terms entirely different than your standard boxing match.
Secondly, b) MMA is much more accessable at the moment. Its far easier to find quality MMA both with regularity, and for free, now, than it has been for boxing in literally decades. Boxing so distanced itself from its audience (casual fight fans and working class people who don't want to buy HBO/Showtime or PPV just to see a decent fight), that MMA swooped in to fill the void.
The "instant-gratification" angle can really only be argued selectively, as much of MMA involves tactics and submissions which can be equally as time consuming and perceivably "boring" as a highly technical boxing match. And how many people were delighted by the "instant gratification" of Rampage KO'ing Chuck halfway through the first round? Most casual fans were disappointed, in fact. So I think his argument has some flaws, to be sure..
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